Nick blackmailed as David discovers he stole Audrey's cash - "It's a ticking time bomb" says Coronation Street's Ben Price

In this week's episodes Nick faces the fallout of betraying his family - on Wednesday 16 January David figures out his sibling's scheme and Natalie, a waitress from the restaurant Nick and Elsa ran in Nottingham who helped him steal the cash by withdrawing it which was caught on CCTV, shows up in Weatherfield and blackmails her associate threatening to reveal all. Ben Price teases a tricky week ahead for his alter ego.

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What made Nick steal from his own grandmother?
I don’t think he sees it as stealing, he genuinely believes he is going to give it back. He has got himself in deep water with his ex, the new relationship with Leanne, the factory, he always needs a business so the money is what will sort all of this out. It was a business opportunity.

Did he always plan to frame Lewis?
Yes, with an eye to somehow getting the money back to Audrey. Nick believes he has borrowed the money. He also imagined that it wasn’t hers originally to lose, she hadn’t expected to receive it so it wasn’t her life savings, or her own hard-earned cash. To Nick, Audrey never actually had it. Nick has been messed around a lot, by Carla, by Leanne, now Elsa is now trying to ruin him - this is him trying to take control. Image and money are important to him and he will do a lot to keep that.

Does he feel guilty?
Yes I do believe he does, when Claudia is in the frame and others are being looked at. He thought everyone would think it was Lewis, he’d pay Elsa off, get the factory and then give the cash back to Audrey somehow and save the day.

How is his relationship with Leanne going since they reunited?
It's fine but perhaps Leanne has has convinced herself that because she has been through the mill so much, Nick is just a bit less rubbish than Peter and Steve! They were each other’s first love. Nick thinks the image is partly what Leanne wants, the security and the money, so it is important for him to keep that going.

Does he enjoy being back in Weatherfield?
He looks down on some of the residents, he has a superiority complex. I am always so insistent he is in a suit so it seperates Nick from other characters and gives him that air of superiority. He might have grown up on the same street as lots of other people but he is the one that got away and made good, and now he has to maintain that even if it is not actually the truth. You'd never get Nick working at the garage, would you?

Is he surprised when David works out it was him who took the money?
Yes. David is very suspicious, he looks for that sort of thing and he knows Nick better than anyone, and knows what he is capable of, whereas Audrey and Gail would never believe Nick could do something like that. David doesn’t trust him. In a way David has always been the one who has been looked down upon so he's the fighter in the family dynamic.

He buys gifts for Audrey and Leanne, won't that look suspicious?
This is Nick's guilt, but he covers it up as trying to make Audrey feel better after everything she has been through. He buys gifts for Leanne purely as part of the image he believes she has fallen for.

How does he react when Natalie tries to blackmail him?
He is fairly relaxed about it, she is an irritant but the fact that she only asks for £2000 and yet he got her to withdraw £80,000 he knows she is not a real threat - but the fact that he got someone else involved is obviously a weak link in his plan.

Could David use this against him?
Without a shadow of a doubt yes, this is a secret that Nick needs David to keep and David is going to use that to his full advantage. This is a ticking time bomb for the brothers and the family.

How will Platts react if and when the truth comes out?
This is something different to what they have dealt with before. Usually their problems come from someone on the outside threatening the family and they all pull together, but this time the issue is within. It will divide loyalties and will really test the family.

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